The first one took place on April 25th, 1995. Before that other teams played, but the crowds that these two sides could get to the game meant that their fate was sealed.

I was still in school and I remember watching on as the packed out crowd roared as the siren sounded to signal the beginning of the match. The atmosphere was like that of a Grand Final.

Even sitting at home, on a sofa in my parent’s living room, 35 kilometres from Cummins, I felt like I was there, a part of the team.

From what I can understand, representing your country in the Australian Defence Force is like being a part of a team too.

Your battle may see you out in the field for 80 days rather than 80 minutes, but you're still thinking on your feet, putting your body on the line and always protecting your team mate's back.

George Orwell famously wrote, "Serious sport... is war, minus the shooting"*, and if you've ever seen the faces of footballers up close, as they run out to take on their biggest rivals, you'd know that they feel it too.

But at least when you send a loved one off to play football, you do so knowing that they're going to return safe, if not somewhat bruised and sore.